NPCA Looks to the Future with Strategic Plan - Program Goals: Service, Education, and Advocacy

Read and comment on the Strategic Plan for the NPCA presented at the Board of Directors meeting on January 31 and endorsed by the Board on February 1. The Plan emphasizes improving what NPCA offers its members and strengthening NPCA's relationship with its group affiliates. PCOL will have an interview with NPCA President Kevin Quigley in our next issue that addresses each of the elements of the Strategic Plan in more detail. For now, read the plan and leave your comments below at:

*This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.

NPCA presents Strategic Plan

Program Goals: Service

Service

Promote greater and more effective service to country and community.

Success - Double numbers involved and enhance impact

Program Goals: Education

Education

Leverage insights to enhance global understanding and tolerance.

Success - Expand network participation from 3k to 7.5k

Program Goals: Advocacy

Advocacy

Have discernible impact on issues important to Peace Corps community.

Help make changes to improve Peace Corpsí responsiveness to community issues

Background on Strategic Planning and on the Strategic Plan for the NPCA

A Strategic plan is document used by an organization to align its organization and budget structure with organizational priorities, missions, and objectives. Astrategic plan should include a mission statement, a description of the agency's long-term goals and objectives, and strategies or means the agency plans to use to achieve these general goals and objectives. The strategic plan may also identify external factors that could affect achievement of long-term goals.

There are a variety of perspectives, models and approaches used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic plan is developed depends on the nature of the organization's leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organization's environment, size of the organization, expertise of planners, etc. For example, there are a variety of strategic planning models, including goals-based, issues-based, organic, scenario (some would assert that scenario planning is more a technique than model), etc.

Goals-based planning is probably the most common and starts with focus on the organization's mission (and vision and/or values), goals to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the goals, and action planning (who will do what and by when).

Issues-based strategic planning often starts by examining issues facing the organization, strategies to address those issues, and action plans.

Organic strategic planning might start by articulating the organization's vision and values and then action plans to achieve the vision while adhering to those values.

In addition, the focus of the planning activities is often different between for-profits and nonprofits. Nonprofits tend to focus more on matters of board development, fundraising and volunteer management. For-profits tend to focus more on activities to maximize profit.

The NPCA Board has endorsed this Strategic Action Plan for 2004-2011. This plan, which is available in Power Point format here, places particular emphasis on improving what NPCA offers its members and strengthening NPCA's relationship with its group affiliates. The plan is designed in three phases:

Phase I: 2004, a plan for stabilization;

Phase II: 2005-2008, a plan for growth;

Phase III: 2009-2011, a plan for the future (leveraging the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps community.

The Strategic Action Plan will be revised and updated as needed, with regular reporting on the progress being made. Individuals wishing to offer comments on the plan are welcome to send them to NPCA President Kevin Quigley at mailto:president@rpcv.org or leave your comments below.

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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; NPCA; Strategic Planning

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